Turn your iPad or iPod Touch into a phone - for free!

Here's an easy way to turn your iPad or iPod Touch into a REAL, fully functional phone, able to make and receive phone calls and texts, WITHOUT having to pay for a phone bill.

As with anything, there's a catch; in this case, it requires you to have a WiFi connection (at home, free WiFi hotspots, etc.) If you don't have a WiFi connection on your iOS device, it won't work. Other than that, it's easy! (Also, Google Voice℠ might not be available in your location, especially if you live outside of North America.)

1. First, sign up for Google Voice℠ -  it's free, and it's an awesome service.
   • Make SURE you use a Gmail address to sign up for Google Voice, NOT a different account! (Create a Gmail account if you don't already have one.)
   • Google Voice℠ has TONS of features; for a full listing, take a look at the Google Voice Account Types on the Google Voice blog. The majority of people need only to concern themselves with the first column, Google Number.
   • You have to have access to a regular phone to setup Google Voice℠. You only need it once, so you can get the phone call and type in the confirmation code. You can then unselect it in the settings for Google Voice℠.
2. Next, download Talkatone in the Apps Store.
   • It's also free, though it does display ads in the interface (easily ignorable, though you can pay a fee to remove them if you so desire.)
3. Follow the steps in Talkatone to setup your Google Voice℠ account in the app.
   • Make SURE you log into your Gmail email account, and LOG OUT of the Chat & SMS (it'll be located on the left-hand side of the screen, about half-way down.)

That's it! As long as you have WiFi, you can use Talkatone and your Google Voice℠ account to make and receive calls and text messages. If you need details, step-by-step instructions on what to do, let me know in the comments, and I'll write up a blog post for it.

There are other Google Voice℠ apps, such as the official Google Voice app from Google (free), and GV Mobile+ (paid); while they work fine, Talkatone is the only one that I've found that will let you both dial out and receive incoming calls without having an actual phone (3G/EDGE) connection on your device. If you've found another app that will do it as easily as Talkatone, let me know in the comments section.

And yes, iPhone users can use this as well, to have multiple phone numbers. I use Google Voice℠ as well as my cellular service, so that I can have a personal phone number, and a business phone, both ringing to the same phone.